1 Rabbit 1 Swallow 



33 Short-tailed Shrews 1 Warbler 



21 Small Short-tailed Shrews 6 Marsh Wrens 



1 Star-nosed Mole 2 Spring Frogs 



1 Brown Bat 



A glance at this list will demonstrate to any thoughtful person the immense 

 value of this useful bird in keeping noxious rodents in check. Moreover, judg- 

 ing from the species in the list, it may be seen that the Bam Owl hunts almost 

 exclusively in open country, such as cultivated fields, meadows and marsh lands, 

 where such pests do most damage. 



In the West the food of the Barn Owl consists very largely of pouched 

 gophers, a specially destructive mammal, also ground squirrels, rabbits and 

 insects. In the southern states large numbers of cotton rats are destroyed, a fact 

 which should be appreciated by cxery planter. 



Florida Gallinule {GalUnula galeata) 



Range : Breeds from central California, Arizona, Nebraska, Minnesota, 

 Ontario, New York, and Vermont south through the West Indies and Mexico 

 to Chile and, Argentina, and in the Galapagos and Bermuda ; winters from south- 

 ern California, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia southward. 



Although in no proper sense of the word a game bird, the Florida gallinule 

 looks so much like a rail or a coot, and moreover so commonly frequents the same 

 general localities as these birds, that it is frequently mistaken by the gunner and 

 shot. Although it inhabits the Florida swamps, it is by no means restricted to 

 that State, but possesses a wide range westward to the Pacific, northward as far 

 as Massachusetts, and south well into the tropics. 



The gallinule's habits are a combination of duck, coot, and rail, and the bird 

 is most at home amid the tangle of vegetation that grows on the borders of fresh- 

 water ponds, wdiere it is careful to keep well concealed during the hours of day- 

 light. After dusk gallinules feel safe in the open, and then may often be seen 

 swimming across broad stretches of open water. The gallinule has little to com- 

 mend it for the table, and as it is absolutely harmless, sportsmen will do well to 

 acquaint themselves sufficiently with its appearance to avoid shooting it by 

 mistake. 



625 



